Written for the 2011 LJ Wishlist

Requested By: Teaandhoney

Fandoms: Alias/BtVS

Characters: Sydney, Drusilla

Prompt: The stars whisper to Dru about another strong little girl tied up in a prophecy.

Whispers in the Dark

Wind and rain crashed against the side of the large manor home, but it stood unmoved - the warm light spilling from the windows untouched by the raging storm outside. The stable boy eyed it enviously as he closed the large barn door, settling in for a long, cold night of polishing the carriage.

He would be the only survivor.

Because inside, though it looked warm and inviting from an outsider's perspective, was nothing short of a nightmare. The sounds within were drowned out by the howling winds, the massacre blocked off from the world's view by heavy rain and the members of the household's attempts at escape made futile by their attackers speed and strength.

To her, it was a perfect evening out.

Drusilla twirled in circles in the sitting room, loving the way the colors blended together like a kaleidoscope. The candlelight, the maid's dresses, the blood decorating the walls - it was beautiful. The screams down the hall spurred her on, faster and faster she spun, laughing with her arms outstretched.

She stopped suddenly, tilting her head to the side like someone was calling her, then looked over to the desk. The rain beat against the glass behind it, loud now that her laughing and the screaming had ceased.

"Hush," she chastised the weather. "I'm trying to hear."

She ran her hand over the desk, not touching anything, just hovering above it - looking, looking, looking.

"You can hide, but you can't run," she whispered. Her hand stopped near the middle of the desk and she smiled in delight. "There you are."

She pulled the middle drawer out and felt in the vacated area, retrieving a bundle of papers that had been secured to the underside of the desk. She laid them out, swaying slightly and closing her eyes, trying to find the one that was calling to her.

"Dru, darling," Spike said from by the door, momentarily distracting her.

She held a finger to her lips. "Shhh."

Finally her fingers brushed the one she'd been looking for. She opened her eyes as she freed the page from the rest. It looked blank, but she could see past that. Like everything else, underneath was something secret, something hidden, something plain only to her. She closed her eyes and let her mind read what was hidden from sight.

"'This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works: bind them with her fury, a burning anger. Unless prevented, at vulgar cost, this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation. This woman, without pretense, will have had her effect, never having seen the beauty of my sky behind Mt. Subasio. Perhaps a single glance would have quelled her fire.'"

"The skies behind Mt. Subasio aren't that great," Spike muttered, stepping over a woman's body to cross the room to her. "So what's that then? A prophecy? Bloody hogwash they are…"

"No, no, Spike. The stars never lie. The moon, the sky, the sun, yes. Miss Elizabeth lies all the time, wicked little thing that she is," she said, pausing to scowl at the thought of that naughty, naughty girl. "But the stars, they never lie. The whisper to me, 'pss, pss, pss', about this one."

"This one what?" Spike asked, looking at the blank page.

Spike was wonderful fun, he was soft and hard and quiet and loud and all the things Dru loved. But he was blind to the things underneath the underneath. That was okay though, most were. She placed the page back where she had found it and rounded the desk to join Spike. There were many, many years yet before this little girl would be around, so, for now, there was nothing to do but wait. Wait and dance. She grabbed Spikes hand and laughed, pulling him to join her as the dead watched the show.

Now, those many, many years had passed. Spike was gone. Angelus was gone. Darla was gone. But Drusilla remained. Remained and remembered what the stars told her. When they started whispering again, she was already there - ready and waiting to see the girl from the prophecy – Sydney Bristow.

She was hard to keep up with, bouncing all over the world as she did, but Dru saw enough to know she was extraordinary. She watched her grow, watched her kill, watched her cry and break and go on. She watched and watched and watched. Prophecies could be tricky little devils, mixing up words and playing naughty tricks, laughing when things turned out so unlike what had been assumed. Drusilla had no expectations. She just watched. Watched and waited. For what? She wasn't sure herself. But the stars would tell her. They always did.

It was when she saw Sydney's mother that she knew. The woman was all wrong. The stars and her own instincts told her that. Wrong, wrong, wrong. She needed a new mother. A mother that could be with her. Forever.

Thinking of tea and cakes and the fun they'd have with her dolls, Drusilla watched and waited patiently, the stars whispering in her ear.